Treat water rights carefully

Thoroughness and long deliberation — those are two things that should go hand-in-hand with any long-term water decisions in the West. Unfortunately, there is nothing patient or deliberate about the growth rate in Las Vegas, which threatens to wreak havoc on ranchers and other stake-holders who are trying to sustain life in the arid region.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which owns this newspaper) recently sent a letter to the Nevada state engineer, asking him to delay approving a groundwater pumping project that would impact water under a church ranch until after a U.S. Geological Survey study is completed. The study will show whether the project would use water already belonging to people who have rights to it.

Another part of this same project, in Snake Valley, would pump 25,000 acre feet from an underground aquifer that reaches well into Utah, which raises a host of legal issues. Recent reports indicate that Nevada politicians may be putting pressure on members of Utah's congressional delegation to sign an agreement that allows the project to proceed. Supposedly, a Washington County lands bill is being held as ransom.

Regardless whether these allegations are true, only sound geologic information and existing water rights should determine whether these projects proceed.

The Snake Valley proposal is troublesome because it may jeopardize greasewood trees that live in the desert and are an import part of the area's ecosystem. These trees receive their nourishment primarily from underground aquifers. Without them, the area could become polluted by dust storms that may threaten wildlife, as well as the Utah Test and Training Range.

Some people worry the pumping project could cause the spread of ancient alkaline aquifers beneath the salt desert — polluted water now held in check by fresh water. If these worries come true, fragile deserts in western Utah could suffer an ecological catastrophe that makes living and ranching there virtually impossible.

Las Vegas does indeed face enormous challenges as it continues to grow. It can't realistically expect to obtain any more water from the Colorado River. However, it shouldn't be allowed to take water from people with existing rights or to destroy an ecosystem. Science must be the guide, and Las Vegas must face up to the possibility that its environment may limit its growth.